Krones has released its new Contiform 3 Speed stretch blow-moulding equipment, capable of producing up to 82,500 PET bottles per hour.
Thanks to the elimination of a pressure pad, the Contiform 3 Speed can produce larger bottles more quickly and with less energy, the company said.
“Whereas with conventional stretch blow-moulding machines a pressure pad in the mould carrier holds the two mould halves together during the stretch blow-moulding process, the Contiform 3 Speed has been designed so as to ensure that both halves are held together simply by means of the upgraded mould carrier locking mechanism,” said Krones.
The machine can handle moulds to produce bottles of up to two litres, compared to 0.7 litres in previous small-cavity blow mould carriers, and can save up to 15 per cent on the quantities of compressed air used by competing machines.
“Krones has combined the advantages of a smaller blowing wheel and the machine’s reduced size with some further kinematic optimisations – and has thus achieved a significant rise in output, namely from 2,500 with the Contiform 3 Pro to 2,750 containers per cavity/hour with the new system.
“Given the maximum number of 30 cavities, it can thus produce up to 82,500 PET bottles per hour. In all, the Contiform 3 Speed covers machine sizes from eight to 30 cavities,” said Krones.
The manufacturer has also overhauled its existing Contifeed perform roller sorter, making adjustments and changeovers simpler.
